Monday, January 4, 1999 Published at 15:48 GMTWorld: Asia-PacificPhilippines stay of execution welcomedThe convict's new wife, Zenaida EchegarayOpponents of the death penalty in the Philippines have been celebrating the Supreme Court's decision to block the country's first execution for more than 20 years.

The reprieve for convicted child rapist Leo Echegaray came with only hours to go. He was already in a holding cell next to the chamber - where he was due to be put to death by lethal injection - when the court ordered all executions to be delayed until after 15 June.

The decision was made on the grounds that the country's lawmakers were reconsidering the wisdom of capital punishment.

Leo Echegaray: Execution suspended for six months

About 100 opponents of the execution who had been staging a vigil at the New Bilibid Prison in southern Manila broke into applause when they heard of the reprieve. Some shouted: "Praise the Lord!"

Echegaray's lawyer called the stay of execution a
significant first step to abolishing capital punishment in the Philippines.

But President Joseph Estrada, who had earlier rejected appeals for clemency, criticised the ruling. He said he would veto any move to repeal the death penalty.

Mr Estrada, who took office in June, promised to make law and order
a cornerstone of his administration and vowed to wipe out crime in six months.

Echegaray, a 38-year-old house painter, had been sentenced to death for repeatedly raping his stepdaughter.

He had ordered his last meal of sardines and dried fish. When the reprieve was announced, he shared the food with relatives who had gathered at the prison.

Congress 'reconsidering death penalty'

The death penalty was re-introduced in the Philippines five years ago for murder, rape, kidnapping and drug trafficking in response to a rising tide of violent crime.